Information about the Arizona Common Core Standards

August 12, 2013
The State Board of Education (SBE) and the Department of Education (ADE) issue the following status update on the selection process for the new Arizona Common Core Standards (ACCS) aligned assessment.

Commitment to ACCS

The SBE and ADE are unwavering in our commitment to the new, rigorous standards adopted in 2010 and implemented in our public schools. A new assessment aligned with those standards must be adopted to replace the AIMS test – which will be used for the last time in Spring 2014.

Continued Participation in PARCC

Arizona remains a governing state in the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). This consortium, along with another consortium, has been bringing together states for the last several years to develop rigorous new assessments to align with the new standards. Our participation in the PARCC consortium allows Arizona educators to have critical input in the development of the PARCC assessment. As part of our participation in the consortium, we have committed to participate in field testing of the PARCC assessment during this school year.

Adoption of New Assessment

In order to ensure that the final assessment selected is rigorous, cost efficient, and aligns with Arizona’s education priorities, in the coming months the SBE and ADE will issue a Request for Information (RFI) to identify all the existing assessment options available. The RFI will not only inform the development of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the final selection of an assessment, but it will help inform the Governor and Legislature as they develop the FY2015 state budget and funding available for the new assessment.

We expect PARCC to submit responses to the RFI and RFP, and the PARCC assessment will be evaluated on the same criteria as all other potential assessment providers as the procurement process requires.